


The Cyrstals of the Crystal Gardens

by Snowfire (Snowdream)



Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-18
Updated: 2019-10-20
Packaged: 2020-12-22 18:01:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21080759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snowdream/pseuds/Snowfire
Summary: The Crystal Gardens are beautiful to the untrained optic. Only Praxians know their truth, the dark secret they all hold in their sparks. Outsiders just wouldn't understand, would come in and destroy the second chances the Gardens supply. A group of Outsiders soon learn this secret first hand, will they conform or will they bring devastation on the peaceful but silent world of Praxus.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Spooky 2019](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20842274) by [FishFlesh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FishFlesh/pseuds/FishFlesh). 
  * Inspired by [Fairytale](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6641830) by [Gemma_Inkyboots](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gemma_Inkyboots/pseuds/Gemma_Inkyboots), [raisedbymoogles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/raisedbymoogles/pseuds/raisedbymoogles). 

> Inspired by Chapter 2 Jagged of FihFlesh's Spooky2019 (https://archiveofourown.org/works/20842274) and loosely inspired by, who I blame for causing this dream ;D, Fairytale by Gemma_Inkyboots, and raisedbymoogles (https://archiveofourown.org/works/6641830). That's what I get for reading before bedtime.

His screams of his creation’s name still rings in his audios even as he holds the Energon covered sparkling against his chestplates. He follows his bonded, a Praxian, through the Praxian labyrinthine roads. He wanted to take Snowfire to the medical center but Firestreak said they couldn’t help them. The only place that could was where they were going right now. 

He can feel Snowfire slipping away, the sparkling’s cries have quieted to small whimpers. The purple Energon is sticky as it clots in the massive gashes marring the small Cybertronian’s frame. No sparkling should be like this, to be hanging on to their life and a hope to be saved. 

They reach the crystal gardens, the massive Crystal Gardens of Praxus. The garden’s tendrils wrap all around Praxus. When he first saw them, he had the thought of an invasive species. The tendrils have no pattern to them, they reach and reach. 

The sound of a flute and violin and harp play. A soft glow comes from where they are headed. The music stops when Firestreak steps into the clearing. Three mechs stand there before a berth of crystal shards. One mech, a blue and white mech with gold optics, the one playing the violin comes up, reaching for his sparkling. 

He pulls away, holding Snowfire closer. He’s not handing his sparkling over to mechs he doesn’t know. Firestreak steps up to him, black servo on his shoulder. 

“They can help Snowfire, but they have to take him now,” Firestreak says, servo cupping the shivering sparkling’s helm. The golden optics turn soft, the mech doesn’t reach for Snowfire again. Instead offers him to place Snowfire on the berth himself by standing back and motioning to the berth. 

He kneels in front of it, Snowfire’s shivering has stopped, his whimpers are no more. He places the broken sparkling on the crystals. Firestreak pulls him away when the sparkling is out of his servos. 

Crystal vines spring up from the drops of Energon. They travel up to Snowfire’s broken frame just as the three mechs begin playing their eerie song. 

“Snowfire!” he tries reaching for his sparkling when the crystal vines start encasing the small frame. The tendrils of crystals slip into his creation’s frame through the gashes. 

Snowfire’s broken call of Carrier comes just before the sparkling is fully encased in a coffin of crystal. His tanks roll at the sight of Snowfire peacefully recharging. He falls to his knees. Why . . . Why would his bonded bring him here just for Snowfire to deactivate? They could have stayed home, Snowfire would have been with them. Deactivated listening to their sparks. 

Crystal vines begin their way to him as the Energon drips from his frame. Firestreak pulls him to stand. The white and blue mech is speaking. All he hears is Snowfire’s weak, broken cry for him and he couldn’t do anything. He’s numb. He failed at being a creator. 

Ten vorn, that’s all he could have to keep Snowfire online. He couldn’t even protect sparkling until he reached younglinghood. Three more vorn and Snowfire wouldn’t have succumb to the cyberwolf attack. Three more vorn and Snowfire’s main concern would be wondering if a mech liked him, not if he was deactivating. Three more vorn and Snowfire could have had a little brother to play with instead of being alone in deactivation surrounded by lifeless crystals.


	2. Chapter 2

The next orn, he returns to the Crystal Gardens, he has a chest of Snowfire’s favorite things. He steps up to the gates of the garden, the towering crystal spires are black with vines of glowing orange crystals. The blue and white mech stands guard, gold optics watching him with such intensity it seems like it’s the gaze of Primus itself. The mech lets him pass and he sees the garden in the light of the light cycle. It looks like a crystal garden. Nothing more, nothing less. Small alcoves branch off the main path. Praxians stand in those small clearings. Are they like the clearing he put Snowfire in? 

Crystal benches, crystal statues and other adornments are gathered in those alcoves. He must not be the first one to bring stuff in. After a few pulses and many turns, he comes to the alcove he laid Snowfire in. Stepping up to the coffin, he sees Snowfire within it but not as the peaceful recharging sparkling. Instead, he sees an Energon tear stained faceplated sparkling curled into a ball. Could Snowfire move in the coffin? Could he hear him? Snowfire isn’t deactivated?

“Snowfire?” he calls quietly, servo on the coffin. “Can you hear me? I love you with all my spark. Please show me you can hear me.”

Nothing happens and he frowns, spark pulsing fast and full of hope only to pulse hard in realization that Snowfire is probably gone. His vibrant, adventure loving, curious sparkling is gone. 

“I brought you something,” he says pulling the chest from his subspace. He whole sparkedly believes in an afterlife, he had to as a priest in Protihex. He had to give up the priesthood when he chose to love Firestreak and want to have sparklings. Though he doesn’t actively worship and pray, his faith’s just as strong as it had been. “I brought all your favorites.”

The silence greets him as he holds a few of Snowfire’s favorite toys. 

“I’ll leave them here for you,” he says tucking them back into the chest and scooting it behind the coffin. He pulls the data-pad of Snowfire’s favorite stories out. Leaning on the coffin, he begins to read. 

He ends up reading the stories three times before the star begins to set and subspaces the data-pad. He glances up at the green mech, the one who played the flute last dark cycle, who stands in the doorway of the alcove. 

“Visitor hours are closing,” the mech says softly. He nods, glancing down at the coffin, his spark feels like breaking. He actually has to leave Snowfire, Firestreak isn’t here to pull him away. Pressing a kiss to the coffin as he stands, the green mech waits for him and follows him to the gate. He realizes no one else has stayed this long. Stopping at the gate, the blue and white mech continues to stand there. 

“I must return to work next orn, would . . . would it be alright if one of my symbionts came to stay with Snowfire?”

“Only citizens of Praxus are allowed in the Sapphire branch,” the mech says. “The Keepers of the Sapphire refuse anyone who do not have the necessary data-work of citizenship from entry. You and your mate are allowed access.”

He nods and starts heading home, he’ll be lucky to reach their apartment before his Energon lines freeze in the dark cycle. 

Symbionts for the most of Cybertron are considered property, the same level a data-pad or a vidscreen is. It bars them from becoming citizens in those city-states. Protihex was the only one out of Iacon, Kaon, Tarn and Uraya they’ve lived in who allowed citizenship. 

He reaches the apartment complex in darkness and secondary Energon lines frozen. He’s shivering by the time he’s in the apartment, Firestreak frowns at him from the couch. 

“I don’t need you deactivating on me,” the midnight blue Praxian frowns at him and steers him into the washracks. Warm solvent rains down on him and his bonded leaves the room. His spark breaks, didn’t Firestreak miss Snowfire? Does the mech blame him for Snowfire getting inj-deactivated? Do Praxians even grieve? Did Firestreak even love Snowfire?

Falling to his knees, sobbing into the noise of the solvent, he made a mistake in bonding to a mech. He should have stayed in the priest hood. Shouldn’t have even had a sparkling. What good is a creator who can’t raise a creation?

Sobs quiet as his lines thaw and Firestreak comes in to kneel beside him. 

“Energon is in the berthroom,” the mech says, servos holding his arms. He lets his bonded steer him into their berthroom, to their berth. 

Snowfire used to have bad recharge fluxes and have to come in and recharge with them. What if . . . what if he has one?

He turns, grabbing ahold of the Praxian’s frame, he buries his faceplates in the other’s neck. He doesn’t feel Firestreak touch him until pulses later. 

“Why do you not care Snowfire is deactivated?” he screams into the mech’s frame, it’s muffled and broken and he’s sure the other didn’t understand him. Pulses pass by confirming it. 

“If you want to believe Snowfire is deactivated then he will be, if you believe he isn’t, he isn’t,” Firestreak says pressing a kiss to his helm. “I do not believe him to be deactivated but I will believe whatever you decide, my love.”

He frowns as he hugs his bonded. Firestreak doesn’t think Snowfire is deactivated? How could he not, their sparkling is trapped in a crystal coffin. But Praxians believe crystals to be alive and sentient, they believe the Gardens protect Praxus. 

He very much wants to believe Snowfire isn’t deactivated but Snowfire is trapped in that coffin.


End file.
